Written by: E. George
Published November 1, 2023 @ 7:15 PM ET
CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. – On January 12, 2020, Carroll County Jail inmate Patrick O’Neil Gentry attacked a female jailer as she searched his cell for contraband, dragging her out by her hair and clothing and throwing her off the second-floor balcony. On October 25, 2023, a jury convicted 37-year-old Gentry of aggravated battery, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and attempt to commit malice murder, and the presiding Superior Court Judge, Dustin Hightower, sentenced him to 55 years in prison.
In 2020, the jailer searched Gentry’s shared cell for hoarded blankets and laundry bags. After discovering a hidden laundry bag, Gentry forcibly snatched it from her, grabbed her by her hair and clothes, dragged her out of the cell, and tossed her from the second-floor railing.
The jailer landed in a concrete shower on the first floor and suffered a vertebrae compression fracture from the fall. She was transported to
